Castellum Aquae

Castellum Aquae Pompeii Reviews

POMPEII CASTELLUM AQUAE and few things about the urban water supplyDec 30, 2010

After our private visit of the House of Prince of Naples after booking on arethusa.net,thanks to the attendant,we enjoyed the close Castellum Aquae,a castellum divisorium,the main water tower of all Pompeii,built at the highest point of the town near the Vesuvian gate which was attached to a branch of the Serino aqueduct and distributed the water after filtration,settling and stocking in a cistern through three main pipes (the three outlets can be seen at the bottom of the first picture).

This distribution could be regulated with shutters which could stop the water flow in case of serious drought:only the vital service,i.e the public fountains(they were more than 25)were fed and not the least ones(public baths).

The pressurized water was supplied into the city entirely by gravity through lead pipes running underneath the streets.The high water pressure needed to be alleviated by several secondary water towers.After the 62AD earthquake,the Castellum Aquae was damaged,then restored and a new network of lead pipes still visible over its pavements was built.

Prior to the connection of the Campanian aqueduct system(27 BC),the Pompeian water supply came from rainwater of the impluvium stocked in cisterns and from few wells.The Castellum Aquae brought more water and overall a fresh and clean water.